Current-collecting device for electric cars.



PATENTED JUNE 6, 1905.

-L w. PULLBN.

CURRENT COLLECTING DEVICE FOR ELECTRIC GARS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 18,1904.

* PATENTED JUNE 6, 1905.

L. w. PULLBN. CURRENT COLLECTING DEVICE FOR ELEGTRIG CARS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 18, 1904.

3 BHEETSSHEET 8.

i n E J I i m UUH,,H r- E wc w .u @415? 1J1 XX a L pt No. 791,816.PATENTED JUNE 6,1905.

,L. w. PULLEN. v

CURRENT COLLECTING DEVICE FORELBCTRIG CARS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 181904. v

I 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

, UNITED STATES Patented June 6, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

LEON W. PULLEN, OF PHILADELPHIA,

WIRELESS RAILWAY OOMPAN Y,

TRIOT OF COLUMBIA.

PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGN OR TO A CORPORATION OF THE DIS- SPEGIFICATIONforming part of Letters Patent No. 791,816, dated June 6, 1905.

Application filed July 18, 1904:- Serial No. 216,983. i

To aZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LEON W. PULLEN, of the city and county ofPhiladelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented an Improvement inCurrent-Collecting Devices for Eleotric Cars, of which the following isa specification.

My invention has reference to current-collecting devices for electriccars; and it consists of certain improvements, which are fully set forthin the following specification and shown in the accompanying drawings,which form a part thereof.

The object of my invention is to provide a current-collecting device forelectrically-propelled cars which shall be adapted to receive currentfrom contacts arranged along the railway at intervals and supplied withcurrent from a supply-conductor through magnetic switchessuch, forexample, as set out in Letters Patent N o. 7 49,401, granted to me onJanuary 12, 1904.

In carrying out my invention I employtwo longitudinal pole-piecesextending almost the length of the car and separated a short distanceand magnetized by electro or other magnets, preferably of the horseshoetype, connecting them at intervals, whereby one polepiece is of northpolarity and the other of south polarity, and combine therewith one ormore flexibly-supported collector-bars suspended between the pole-piecesand insulated therefrom, and suspension means for said devices, wherebythey move as a unit with the carbody in a horizontal direction, but aresustained vertically upon the axles independently of the verticalmovements of the car-body, so that the collector-bars are supported at afixed distance from the ground. 4

My invention also comprehends many details of construction, which,together with the above features, will be better understood by referenceto the drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improvedcurrent-collecting device with the oar-track axles indicated in section.Fig. 2 is a plan view of the collecting device. Fig. 3 is across-section of Fig. 1 on line 3 3. Fig. 4 is of collector-bar.

a perspective view of the suspension construction for the ends of thecurrent-collector bars. Fig. 5 is a cross-section of my preferred shapeFig. 6 is a diagram illustrating the motor-circuits in their relation tothe collector-magnets, and Fig. 7 is a crosss'ection showing the use ofpermanent magnetic cores for the collector-magnets.

' A is the outline of the bottom of the carbody. B B are the car-trucksand may be of any suitable construction, and C is my improvedcurrent-collector device. The rearmost axle b of the forward truck andthe for ward axleof the'rear truck are each provided with a box Dbetween the wheels and held against lateral movement by collars d on theaxles.

E represents box-frames surrounding the axles and boxes and are providedwith internal upper and lower steel plates 0 e, insulated from thebox-frames byinsulation Fandforming elongated spaces betweenthem. The upper of these plates 6 rests upon the boxes D' with freedom of movementthereon, whereas the lower plates 0 are below the axles and act to takeany upward thrust of the collector should such occur from any cause. Tothese box-frames E are securedinsulated depending brackets Gr, to whichare attached the two longitudinal pole-pieces G G, which are parallel toeach other and separated a few inches. In addition to being securedtogether by the brackets these pole-pieces are further attached togetherby the U-shaped cores I of electromagnets, which are arranged atintervals to produce in the pole-pieces strong magnetic fields of northand south polarity. These cores are provided with coils J, designed tobe energized in series in a shunt-circuit U around the motors T when thecar is in operation or temporarily at rest. In addition to these coilsthere are coils J on the cores, which may be coupled in multiple ormultiple by circuit 1' and energized by a current from a battery U,controlled by a switch W, and also by the current in the motor-circuit25 during the normal operation of the car under the regulation of thecontroller '1". The battery is employed for producinga magnetic field inthe pole-pieces for the inltial closing of the switch in therailway-circuit of the road-bed after the current has been put into theline from the power-station or after it has been momentarily interruptedfrom any cause. In this manner the magnetic strength of the pole-piecesincreases with the load on the motor, so that when the motor requiresthe greatest current the field of force of the polepieces is strongestto insure the required contact in the switch-boxes to insure the flow ofcurrent without heating. As this application does not claim thesecircuits, no illustration of the particular circuits and switches isshown.

H H are two longitudinal boards secured at their lower parts to theinner sides of the pole-pieces G, as shown in Fig. 3, said boards actingas insulators to the current-collecting bars O O, which are suspendedslightly below the lower edges of said boards and pole-pieces. Thesecurrent-collecting bars are suspended by chains S and a screw and nut Spassing through a cross-bar S, secured to the top of the boards S Thesechain connections extend from the center of the cross-bars S laterallyto the collector-bars, and the successive chains are respectivelyconnected alternately with the two collector-bars O O, so that thetendency is to cause said bars to swing toward each other and take anormally central position in the space between the insulatingboardsSS.The ends of the collector-bars are turned upward into goosenecks O andare secured to heads P, which are supported upon upwardly-extending pinsR from cross-bars R, insulated from and secured to the pole-pieces. Nutsr on said pinsR maybe employed to limit the downward movement of thecollector-bars and yet offer no obstruction to the rising of thecollector-bars and the heads P when said collector-bars are pushedupward in riding over the contacts in the railway. It will be observedthat in this method of suspension of the collector-bars they have everyfreedom of adjustment, and consequently will under no conditions bind orcreate excessive friction in passing over and in contact with thesuccessive contacts arranged along the roadway and from which theycollect the current. In this application no claim is made to thecontactblocks nor to the electromagnetic switch devices which aredesigned to be operated by the pole-pieces Gr, as such boxes areillustrated in my patent before referred to.

The boxframes E E each have three upwardly-extended pins K immediatelyabove the axles b, and these pins pass through holes in a brace-frame L,secured to the under side of the car-body A, so that the saidbrace-frame and the car-body may rise and fall vertically relatively tothe pins K. The upper end of each of the middle pins is secured to atensionrod M, the lower ends of which tension-rods being hooked into aplate M, secured to the core of the central electromagnet, so as tosupport the pole-pieces and other parts of the collector device in ahorizontal position. A turnbuckle m is provided in each of the tensionrods to lengthen or shorten them for proper adjustment. Each of the sidepins K is connected by tension-rodsN with the polepieees intermediate ofthe center and axles, so as to provide further support to sustain thesaid pole-pieces in a horizontal plane. Turnbuckles a may also beemployed in these tension-rods N for proper adjustment.

By adjusting the pole-pieces G into a horizontal position by thetie-rods M and N, I also secure a corresponding adjustment of theinsulating-boards H and the collector-bars O, which are hung from saidboards.

The collector-bars O are preferably formed of tubular metal, usually ofcopper, so as to embody lightness and flexibility. In the preferred formof such tubular bars I make them somewhat pear-shaped, with the greatestmass of metal at the lower and large part, as indicated in Fig. 5. Inthis manner the bars may have great durability and longer life beforerequiring to be replaced. The current may be collected from thecollector-bars directly or through the heads R and supplied to themotors through the usual controllers.

The tension on the upper parts of the pins K of the tension-rods iscounteracted by the frame L, which sustains the said pins in a verticalposition without interfering with the vertical movements of thecar-body.

It will be observed that the swivel of the trucks will in no wiseinterfere with the suspension of the current-collecting device, as thesaid current-collector device is substantially connected with thecar-body, while giving said car-body provision for vertical movementindependent of the collector device, whose position relatively to theroadway is defined by the axles 6, upon which it is sus tained throughthe boxes D. The trucks may swivel or turn freely, as the elongatedspace in the box-frames E between the plates 0 0 permits the freeswinging of the box I) without interference with the said box-frames.

While I have shown the current-collecting device in connection with twoswivel-trucks, it is evident that it is equally applicable to afour-wheeled car structure in which only two axles are employed such,for example, as the two axles M. In such a case, however, there wouldnot be the same necessity for making the box-frame E so elongated, asthe box I) would not have to slide against the under surface of theplate a.

As shown, the pole-pieces G are insulated from the ground,collector-bars, and the mo tor-circuit, so that they are not liable fromany cause, such as picking up a piece of iron, to short-circuit the lineor motors. They may be insulated in any other manner desired.

\Nhile I prefer the pole-pieces to be encrgized by electromagnets withsoft-iron cores, the cores Imay, if desired, be permanent magnets andused with or Without the coils J J or either of them. as shown in Fig. 7

Any other method of insulating the collector from the axles of the truckmaybe used in lieu of that shown.

While I prefer the construction shown, I do not limit myself to theminor details, as they may be modified without departing from the spiritof the invention.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-' 1. In an electrically-propelled vehiclethe combination of the axles, with a current-collecting device extending.from axle to axle close to the road-bed, insulated supports forsustaining the collecting device from the axles with freedom of lateralmovement thereon;

and connecting means between the collecting device and vehicle-bodywhereby the body is free for vertical movement but not lateral movementrelatively to the collecting device. 1 2. In an electrically-propelledvehicle the combination of two pivoted trucks provided with axles, witha current-collecting device extending from axle to axle close to theroadbed provided with flexible contact-bars and rigid pole-pieces uponopposite sides of the contact-bars, insulated supports for sustainingthe collecting device from the adjacent axles of the two trucks withfreedom of'lateral movement thereon, and connecting means between thecollecting device and vehicle-body whereby the body is free for verticalmovement but not lateral movement relatively to thesupporting devices tothe pole-pieces in termediate of the axles.

5. In a current-collecting device for electric vehicles, twolongitudinal pole-pieces connected at intervals by electromagnets, incombination with insulating-walls between them,

two flexible collector-bars suspended between the insulating walls,suspension chains between each of the bars and the insulating-walls forcausing the two bars'to normally move toward each other, and supportingdevices for sustaining the collecting device upon the axles.

6. In an electrical vehicle, a. current-collecting device consisting oflongitudinal polesulated from them, and heads guided upon said guidesand secured to the gooseneck ends of the collector-bars.

8. In an electric vehicle, a current-collecting device consisting oflongitudinal polepieces provided with electromagnets for energizingthem,a collector-bar suspended and insulated from the said pole-pieces andlocated between them, upwardly-extending means at each end of thepole-pieces for supporting them upon the axles, and tension-rods connecting th eupwardly-extending. means at each end of the pole-pieceswith the said pole-pieces at intervals intermediate of the ends.

9. In an electric vehicle, a current-collecting device consisting oflongitudinal polee pieces provided with electromagnets for energizingthem, a collector-bar suspended and insulated from the said pole-piecesand located between them, upwardly-extending means at each end of thepole-pieces for supporting them upon the axles, tension-rods connectingthe upwardly-extending means at each end of the pole-pieces with thesaid pole-pieces at intervals intermediate of the ends, and meansfor.1adjusting the length of the several tensionro s. I

10. In'a current-collecting device for a car, the combination of twolongitudinal polepieces connected at intervals byhorseshoeelectromagnets, insulatingboards secured upon the inner facesof the pole-pieces, and collecting-bars suspended between saidinsulating-boards and extending slightly below the pole-pieces.

11. A vehicle having two pivoted trucks, combined with boxes supportedupon the adjacent axles of the two trucks, box-frames resting upon theboxes and extending below the axles and having upright pins, acurrent-collecting device extending between the two trucks and supportedby the two box-frames, and brace-frames secured to the under part of thevehicle-body and having apertures for the upright pins.

12. A vehicle having two pivoted trucks,

combined with boxes supported upon the adjacent axles of the two trucks,box-frames resting upon the boxes and extending below the axles andhaving upright pins, a current-collecting device extending between thetwo trucks and supported by the box frames, brace-frames secured to theunder part of the vehicle-body and having apertures for the upright pinsand tie-rods extending from the tops of the pins to the collector deviceintermediate of the axles of the two trucks.

13. A vehicle having two pivoted trucks,- and boxes supported upon theadjacent axles of the trucks, combined with two box-frames resting uponthe boxes and extending below the axles and each provided with plates 6e secured within the box frame and insulated therefrom said plates 6 6receiving the wear,

and a current-collecting device extending from truck to truck andsupported by the boxframes.

14. In a current-collecting device the combination of the twopole-pieces connected at intervals by the cores I of inverted-U shape,coils J J upon the upright legs and coils J upon the upper or crossportion of the cores, and a collector-bar suspended between thepole-pieces and extending below the bottom of the pole-pieces.

15. The collector device consisting of iongitudinal pole-pieces forminga longitudinal insulated space between the pole-pieces open at thebottom, a collector-bar suspended in the insulated space, andsuspension-chains sustaining the collector-bar and provided with meansfor adjustment.

16. The collector device consisting of longitudinal pole-pieces, forminga longitudinal insulated space between them open at the bottom, twocollector-bars flexibly suspended in the insulated space, and means forcausing the bars to normally rest against each other and in the middleof the space.

17. The collector device consisting of longitudinal pole-pieces, forminga longitudinal insulated space between them open at the bottom, twocollector-bars flexibly suspended in the insulated space, means forcausing the bars to normally rest against each other and in the middleof the space, and means for adjusting the bars vertically.

18. A current-collecting bar for electricrailway cars, consisting of atubular bar having the lower portion of greatlyincreased thickness andweight.

19. A current-collecting bar for electricrailway cars, consisting of atubular bar having the lower portion of greatly-increased thickness andweight, combined with flexible supports therefor connected with itsupper or thinner portion.

In testimony of which invention I hereunto set my hand.

LEON PULLEN.

Witnesses:

R. M. KELLY, WM. ROONEY.

